President's Message 2005

Is there such a thing as a numismatic industry? Look at any publication that supports the hobby and you might be forced to say yes. Along with articles, the pages are crowded with advertisements, monthly or weekly updates on coin prices, mint figures, want ads and so on. Dealers, be they government mints or the private sector have full page or small classified ads advertising their specialties from tokens to the latest commemorative coins.

However, if we step back and look at it from the purely personal level the observation might be quite different. Numismatics by nature is a pretty solitary pastime. We do have however, a support system that enables us as collectors to read, explore, investigate and share our passion for the hobby.

Let me share an example. This past weekend I attended the Salem Coin Club of Oregon's annual show. There were around thirty five dealers selling mostly United States coins and one selling ancient and foreign. I purchased several coins from this dealer and rummaged through the inventory of the rest and came up with six interesting non US finds. One of those finds a small Islamic bronze had no identifying tag, it just called to me.

I left the show a few dollars well spent plus one puzzle piece. I spent the next day trying to figure out what that small hammered piece was. I used several references with no success. I then went on the internet to use some of the many numismatic data bases I have bookmarked and still no joy. At no time did I have a specialist in Islamic numismatics that sat with me to help. I did however have a support system of my personal library and thanks to the internet, data bases and dealer stores that will help me in my search, contributions from my fellow numismatists.

I'm sure all of you have had this same experience. This "industry" is really our support system, and like any support system there must be investment in it by us for it to be there when we need it. That investment may be the purchase of literature and periodicals in our chosen field, acquiring coins from a dealer, joining an online group such as Yahoo Groups to find and share information or travel to a local, regional or national show and then retreat to our solitary place to enjoy our new finds and pursue our hobby as well as share with this knowledge with others.

By the way, I still haven't identified the coin, but I will certainly be more "industrious" in my pursuit. I'll keep you posted.

Larry Gaye